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Drone Industry Outlook

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) states, “the drones are coming.” And with them, they are going to bring jobs as well as an economic impact due to the changes in the drone industry, especially with the introduction of part 107 by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Drone Industry Growth

Business Insider defines drones as “aerial vehicles that can fly autonomously or be piloted by a remote individual.” Using this definition, they expect:

The military drone market is mature with the Department of Defense (DOD) looking to increase its more than 7,000 drones in 2012 by 50 more at an estimated cost of $2.9 billion.

Estimated Economic Impact

The FAA 2015 prediction deadline for integrating drones into the national civilian airspace forecasted:

$82.1 billion in economic impact by 2025

100,000 jobs by 2025

Who Will Buy Drones?

In a report by Markets and Markets, North America leads the forecast by 45% as the dominant regional market. Domestically in the US, agricultural drone applications will dwarf all others accounting for $75.6 billion of the total economic impact by 2025, according to AUVSI. Government facilities follow up by $3.2 billion while all other sectors combed will take up $3.2 billion of the economic impact.

Based on application: Aerial photography and remote sensing is expected to lead.

Based on duration of service: Short duration service is expected to lead.

Drone Economy Among States

AUVSI observes that the drone economy will not be spread in an even manner. The domestic drone boom will hugely benefit: